Reversible
by markmark261
Summary: A time-travelling Doctor must change the past or tragedy will befall The Fantastic Four.
1. Dreaming

Disclaimer: All characters are copyright Marvel Comics.

Author's Note: This story assumes that The Fantastic Four have been around for ten years (Marvel time), with the chapters being spaced two years apart. This may disagree wildly with your own ideas, and if this is the case then feel free to assume a different amount of time between chapters – after all, despite what The Watcher's about to tell you, it's only a story. 

**_Reversible_**

Prologue – Dreaming

Hello, allow me to introduce myself. My name's Uatu, but you can call me The Watcher, and this is the start of the prologue.

Now, let's begin by talking about parallel Universes. There are an uncountable number of these - some very similar, and some very different, to your own. On some of these, such as your own, you're currently reading this story (or a variation thereof), on others you'll never read it, on others you've finished reading it, and, then again, and perhaps most worrying of all, on others you wrote it. Of course, you're unaware of all these parallel versions of you that, along with your good self, comprise your hyper-dimensional identity. But I'm not. My many parallel versions think as one, and through them I can see all the possible Universes, all the What Ifs.

You'll be glad to know that this story has nothing to do with parallel Universes, although at first, and second, glance it may seem like it does.

This is a story about the real Universe (no, not yours, don't be so conceited - I'm talking about the Marvel Universe). This is not a "What If?" but a "What Was". It's a story I've seen in my dreams.

I dream about the original Fantastic Four. The incredible powers they wielded and the tragedies those powers led to. I wish I could forget the dreams, but, since I am awake while I dream (I never sleep - I don't need to and, besides, it would interfere with my watching), I remember them in every detail.

So, here are my dreams. Dreams of the original Marvel Universe (a Universe some of you may have already observed). I realize that it will all be a bit confusing at first but persevere and things will eventually start to make sense.

This is the end of the prologue. You may now proceed to Chapter 1.

And remember ... I'll be watching you. 


	2. Doom Patrol

_**Chapter One – Doom Patrol**_

_**The Present Day**_

The doombots fly, silhouetted against the night sky, moonlight gleaming off their adamantium armor. On constant patrol, making sure crime remains a thing of the past. With Doom in charge, there is no longer a need for superheroes.

Doom's rise to world domination was swift. With the demise of The Fantastic Four (only one member of which now remained) there was nobody who could stop him.

Watching the doombots from the ground below, a former superhero wishes that he could be flying with them, enveloped in his crimson flames ... but those days are over. As he continues walking along he remembers his past as The Human Torch. He also remembers his team-mates - they're all gone now. The most recent casualty was Toro, killed at Genosha. He hasn't seen any of the others - Captain America, Bucky and The Sub-Mariner - since World War II.

Walking past The Baxter Building, The Human Torch's android mind turns to thinking about The Fantastic Four and how they'd been betrayed by one of their own. It disturbs him that it was the member that most resembled him that had done the betraying.

He carries on past The Baxter Building and, unable to sleep, unable to soar, decides to take a walk. Maybe he'll head towards The Bowery, maybe not.

* * *

Matt Murdock can't sleep. Not wanting to disturb his pregnant wife, he sneaks out of bed, and, passing his son Jack's room (Jack sitting up in bed, trapped in his own little Universe), stealthily makes his way to his gym on the floor below. There, within the gym's insulated walls, he takes out his frustrations on a punch-bag. He wants, more than anything, to don his costume and fight some crime, but there's no crime left to fight. Doom's stolen Daredevil from him, and now he's left with just Matt Murdock, blind lawyer (who's lost a large proportion of his work anyway now that there's no crime around).

Matt wonders if Peter Parker's going through similar withdrawal symptoms. Then he realizes it's even worse for Peter – he earned his living taking photos of a man who was no longer there.

After an hour or so of trying to tire himself out, Matt returns to bed, checking in on young Jack on the way, and being careful not to disturb Karen. He goes to sleep listening to the sound of the two hearts beating inside her.

* * *

Victor can't sleep.

He's achieved everything that he set out to do and it has all been so easy. Too easy.

Looking out of the palace window, he feels a warm hand on his shoulder, and hears the accompanying female voice:

"What's the matter, honey?"

"I've taken over the world. What do I do for an encore?"

"There's a whole Universe out there. You could have it all," she replies, running her finger over the scars on Doom's face. Doom wishes that he could accept his appearance as easily as she does. Appearances mean nothing to her.

"No, I just wanted the World. I wouldn't know what to do with the Universe."

"Then just be happy with what you've got," she says, smiling at him.

He looks at her face, her body - the face and body of Mary Jane Watson. Slowly she pulls him away from the window and towards the bed. "Face it, tiger, you just hit the jackpot!"

* * *

Bruce Banner opens the letter from Doom. As he reads the letter, and realizes what he did two years previously, his face turns white. As he reaches the final line, "Take it away, Maestro", his face turns green.

Then, following a deafening roar, he's leaping towards Latveria, smashing any doombots that get in his way.

* * *

As is reasonably well known, until Ben Grimm's untimely death, The Thing and The Hulk would have an annual arm wrestling contest. Similarly, but less well known, Victor Von Doom and Reed Richards have an annual chess match. So far it has resulted in a stalemate every time.

The crowds that line the route to The Baxter Building don't realize that this is the purpose of Doom's visit today, they just assume that he's paying his respects to his old adversary.

After making their way through the crowds, Doom and his companion enter The Baxter Building. Mary Jane's features slowly morph into those of Mystique. She's glad to shed the Mary Jane image – she didn't like the strange way that that press photographer had been looking at her.

Slowly they make their way through The Baxter Building's rooms, each dimly lit by a blue light and seemingly festooned with cobwebs.

"What's with all the cobwebs?" Mystique asks.

"They're more than cobwebs. Look at the fractal patterns, the infinite complexity, the …"

"Yeah, whatever," interrupts Mystique, losing interest.

Finally, they reach a room, containing a small television screen with a chessboard sat on a table in front of it. The chessboard is also covered with the cobweb-like strands. On the screen are two words:

HELLO VICTOR

"Hello, Reed," says Doom, sitting down at the table.

"So, where's Gumby?" asks Mystique. Doom gives her a withering glance.

"Just curious," she adds, which is as much of an apology as Doom's going to get.

Doom takes a black pawn and a white pawn, put his hands behind his back, and then holds both his hands out in front of him in fists.

"Choose a hand."

Five minutes later a reply appears on the screen:

LEFT

Doom opens his left hand to reveal a white pawn.

Five minutes later Reed's first move appears:

PAWN TO QUEEN 4

And so the chess match starts. After a few moves, Reed's responses start to become further and further apart. Finally, with both sides near enough even, the following words come on the screen following a seventy minute wait:

I RESIGN

Doom is incensed, swiping the chess board and pieces away with his right gauntlet. It wasn't meant to be like this. He was supposed to win fair and square, not have Reed surrender. Where was the challenge in that? Where was the victory?

He remembers some of the fanciful tales Uatu had once told him (not that I tell tales often you understand, maybe once in a, pun intended, blue moon). Tales of parallel worlds with a different Fantastic Four. A Fantastic Four that weren't victims to their powers, a Fantastic Four worthy to oppose him. What if such a Fantastic Four were possible? What if?

Grasping Mystique's hand he leads her out of the room and they start to systematically search the remainder of The Baxter Building. It must still be here somewhere. Reed couldn't have gotten rid of it, surely.

The numerous rooms contain many wonders. In one room Mystique encounters a statue of The Thing, but Doom pulls her away before she can examine it too closely. In another, there are the robotic remains of the cyborg Super Skrull. But these are not the thing that Doom seeks.

Eventually Doom finds what he's looking for – his old time machine.

His mimetic armor (which he started wearing two years ago when his old armor became uncleanable) unwraps from his form. He explains to Mystique what he has to do, and, following one last kiss, steps onto the machine and is gone. Ten years earlier he will rewrite history.

Mystique alters form one last time and then dons Doom's armor. As the new Doom uses the armor's weaponry to clear a way through the Baxter Building, plans for the future begin to formulate. The old Doom was too provincial, maybe his leaving was for the best. It was time for something new. Time for change. Time to take on the Universe. Time to brush away the cobwebs.


	3. Animal Man

_**Chapter Two - Animal Man**_

_**Two Years Ago**_

It's the last year of Sue Richards' life … but she doesn't know it yet.

She's finally getting her life back on track, although it hasn't been the best year for the people who've been helping her.

First there was her best friend Alicia Masters-Murdock, who was murdered by The Kingpin in his attempt to destroy Matt's life. His son Jack would have been next but, before that could happen, The Kingpin vanished, and hasn't been seen since.

Then there's her psychiatrist Leonard Samson, who she'd been seeing, but not vice-versa, in order to help her come to terms with her condition. From all accounts, Dr. Bruce Banner had found Samson in his office one morning being attacked by a ten-foot tall roach (presumably it was a result of some bizarre radiation accident – such things usually were). Dr. Banner had, with the aid of his green fists, flattened the roach, but it appeared to be too late for Samson. He just lay on the ground convulsing, his eyes staring uncomprehendingly and his mouth emitting an inhuman scream. Banner took him to The Pantheon's secret mountain headquarters where he's been like that ever since, despite the combined efforts of Doctors Banner and Doom.

And finally, there's her husband Reed, who, like Ben and Sue before him, has finally started to lose control of his powers.

* * *

It's the last day of Sue Richards' life … but she doesn't know it yet.

These days she's permanently invisible, along with anything she touches.

Today is the day of Reed's and their now-ally Doom's annual chess match.

She watches the game, invisible to Doom, but viewable by her husband through the thermal goggles he now wears. As the game progresses Doom goes on the attack, sacrificing his queen, while Reed's play becomes more and more defensive. Seemingly erratic knight moves of Doom's suddenly make sense when, in an exchange of pieces, Reed loses his queen. Of course the knight is removed from play in the next move, but suddenly Doom seems to have the upper hand. Reed looks at the board through his goggles as a pawn is promoted to a queen. Beneath his mask, Doom smiles – victory appears to be in his grasp.

"Stalemate in seven moves," declares Reed. "We better get going."

Doom looks at the board and then looks at it some more and then realizes Reed is right. On any other day Doom would vaporize the board at this stage, but today's not the day. It's a draw this year, but eventually, one year, victory will his.

The trio depart. They're on their way to halt an alien invasion.

* * *

It's the last hour of Sue Richards' life … but she doesn't know it yet.

Doctor Doom was the first to discover the Skrull Invasion that had been taking place under their very noses, and he'd sent Mystique, posing as a Skrull, to act as a spy.  
Thanks to Mystique they've found out the whereabouts of the Skrulls' nerve center and an epic battle is taking place. It's the climax of what will later be referred to as the Human-Skrull War and all the world's heroes are there.

Sue positions herself between Reed and Doom, her force field keeping her safe – at least that's the theory.

As she uses her invisible barriers for both defense and offence a war rages round her. As numerous Skrulls mutate into nightmarish configurations, and power beams, mystic incantations and weapon blasts are unleashed all around, Sue is glad for once to be invisible.

Up above, she sees Nightcrawler bamf-ing around, seemingly at random. From his vantage point, with it's rapidly changing camera angles and red smoke dissolves, Kurt Wagner sees everything that's going on - well, everything visible, that is.

* * *

It's the last minute of Sue Richards' life … but she doesn't know it yet.

She also doesn't know that she's not the only invisible warrior in this battle. A Skrull with the combined powers of the Fantastic Four is also there this day. As he soars invisibly above the heroes, he prepares to pick them off one by one.

Holding his thumb and forefinger a centimeter apart, he lines up a hero's head between them (admittedly he can't see his thumb and forefinger but invisible people quickly learn to imagine such things). Using Mister Fantastic's power his arm swiftly shoots out towards the hero and he places his thumb and forefinger on the sides of the hero's head. Then, using The Thing's strength, he pushes his thumb and forefinger together.

Below, Scarlet Witch's attention is diverted from the fight by the sound of The Vision's head exploding.

As the Super-Skrull lines up another victim, he suddenly sees red smoke appear in front of him. And then, looking down, he sees the robotic part of his body become visible around Nightcrawler's foot. The circuitry that enables him to fly, and also keeps his robotic part invisible, has been destroyed by Nightcrawler (or, more accurately, displaced to another dimension). His mission looks like it will have to be abandoned … but, then again, maybe not.

Looking down though the swirls of red smoke surrounding him, Nightcrawler sees the Super-Skrull's robot part becoming visible around his foot, shortly followed by the rest of the Super-Skrull. To Nightcrawler's surprise his foot is completely unharmed – he'd often speculated what would happen if he teleported into something solid, but it appears he speculated wrongly. Before he can bamf away, he's looking into the Super-Skrull's hypnotic eyes. As they plunge towards the ground, the Super-Skrull gives Nightcrawler a command to teleport into the other heroes.

And then Nightcrawler starts the first of a fatal series of teleports – he's unable to resist the Super-Skrull's command but he can decide in what order to do his teleporting.

His first port of call is the mutant known as Shadowcat. As he materializes over her intangible body, he leans forward and looks back at her, his face etched with sadness. He has so much to say, yet no time to say it in. Whatever he says will probably be his last words.

"I ..." he begins, but then the hypnotic command takes control again and he's teleporting away one last time. This time he chooses Sue Richards - the person he's most likely to miss. Hopefully he'll land on one of her force fields instead. Sometimes you've got to make sacrifices.

* * *

It's the last second of Sue Richards' life … and the last seconds of Kurt Wagner's.

Nightcrawler materializes and notices something unusual. His teleport isn't accompanied by the usual cloud of red smoke. Then he realizes that he can't breathe. His hand reaches for his face and feels something on top of it. His survival instinct kicks in and he rips the thing off, sending it hurtling towards Doctor Doom.

As Sue Richards' invisible face splatters against Doctor Dooms's armor, Nightcrawler looks down at the blue costume his body's wearing with the 4 emblem on the chest. Except it's not his body that's wearing it - it's Sue Richards' invisible body on top of his.

As he slowly realizes what's happened his face turns pale blue. Maybe the horror of what's he done, which would no doubt have haunted him forever, would have been sufficient to break The Super-Skrull's control over him. Unfortunately, we'll never know because in the next second a blast from Doctor Doom's gauntlet has put an end to Nightcrawler and any future teleporting.

And the battle continues on...

* * *

Hours later, the heroes are victorious and, aside from the numerous corpses, only the solitary figure of Reed Richards remains. He'd been watching Sue (well, to be strictly accurate, her familiar thermal signature) through his goggles when she died. He'd seen her body slump and she'd appeared to rip her face off. He'd continued to watch the various parts of her scatter as Doom's blast struck Nightcrawler, and he'd continued to watch what was left of her as her remaining heat slowly dissipated.

Now her glow had gone completely and he was left in the dark.

* * *

It's a week later.

Nick Fury insists on handling all of the funeral arrangements. It was SHIELD's fault that the Earth-Skrull War got as far as it did – SHIELD should have spotted it sooner. How could the Skrulls have infiltrated the highest echelons of government unnoticed all these years?

If they hadn't spotted the Skrulls themselves, they should have at least spotted the numerous telepaths (Xavier, Grey, Frost) meeting deaths in mysterious circumstances. The Skrulls didn't want anyone finding out about them before they were ready.

Arranging the funerals will be Fury's last act as head of SHIELD – after that he's resigning. It's not just the Earth-Skrull War – that's just the final straw. There was the Leonard Samson affair – the investigation was dropped to prevent departmental overspending, despite the numerous questions left unanswered. How did that roach get into his office anyway? It was too big to fit through the doors or windows. And what happened to Samson? Surely being bitten by a radioactive insect couldn't affect a person that much? And, even worse than the handling of the Samson case, there was SHIELD's decision to give the highest intelligence clearance to Doctor Doom. Had these people forgotten that five years ago Doom was trying to take over the world? Sure, the guy had saved the world on numerous occasions, but Fury's convinced that he was only saving it for himself.

* * *

For Reed Richards the day starts as usual. He wakes up in The Negative Zone and looks over at the other side of the bed where he doesn't see Sue. Then, not fully awake, he reaches over for his goggles and puts them on. And he still doesn't see Sue.

Today's the day of the funeral, and the first time in recent memory that he'll be making a public appearance. As he finishes getting himself ready he looks at his flat face in the mirror. His bendy teeth cross over each other in places from where's he attempted to brush them and his attempt at combing his hair's left his haircut slightly askew. He slowly takes the time to straighten his teeth and stretch his hairs to the same length - he'll have to get used to doing this for himself now that Sue's not around anymore.

Of course he can't do anything about the fact that he can't contract fully anymore, which means that his stretched-out Mister Fantastic persona is now the same as his normal Reed Richards persona, but that doesn't matter - well it shouldn't. Today's about Sue.

* * *

Peter Parker had refused to take pictures of the funeral for J. Jonah. The minute he sees the twelve foot tall Reed Richards arrive he knows that he's made the right decision. Of course, Jameson will get someone else to take the pictures - after all, for the last two years, the Richards' had taken Spider-Man's place as Jonah's Public Enemy Number One. Parker hopes that Jameson doesn't use "GUMBY!" as a headline. Then again that would appear tasteful next to the headline he'd used four years ago for Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm's deaths.

* * *

As they stand at Sue Richards' graveside, Matt Murdock feels Jack's hand slip out of his. Any other parent would look around frantically to see where their child had gone, but Matt's radar sense is keeping track of Jack. He 'sees' Jack picking up what looks like marbles off the ground.

Matt's mind goes back to the last time he and Jack were standing at a graveside – Alicia's funeral.

Jack returns to Matt's side and kneels down, playing with the marbles. As the funeral comes to an end, Matt kneels down beside Jack. Jack passes him a marble - it 's damp. Then Matt's heightened sense of smell realizes what the marble is. Matt and Jack continue playing marbles until the marbles are worn down and only their tracks remain - the tracks of Reed's tears.

* * *

Doom's noticed a change in Mystique. She's acting differently, remote. No doubt she's blaming him for Nightcrawler's death. Of course, the real person behind Kurt's death was The Super-Skrull, but he'd been slain in the battle, with only his robotic remains being found afterwards.

Still, time was a great healer. He'd just have to be patient - unfortunately patience was not one of Victor's virtues. However, it was one of Mystique's. Maybe not the old Mystique, admittedly, but then again that Mystique was now dead. That would teach her to impersonate a Skrull – as if Skrulls would be fooled by appearances. The new Mystique was of course a Skrull - a Skrull who'd led the heroes into a trap. Unfortunately the trap hadn't worked and the battle was lost, but, with Doom by Mystique's side, the war wasn't over yet.


	4. Invisibles

**_Chapter Three - Invisibles_**

**_Four Years Ago_**

Every day, or so it seems, Reed's doing tests on Sue, constantly monitoring her in an attempt to understand her powers, reverse them, just as he used to do all those years ago, just as unsuccessfully, with Ben. But despite all this monitoring Reed Richards isn't expecting what happens today. In fact, he never even sees it coming - that's the problem with invisibility.

* * *

It was supposed to be a holiday for Matt Murdock, but it's never a holiday for Daredevil. Alicia stays at home, playing with Jack, while Matt's fighting for his life on a Manhattan rooftop.

While Jack plays with some clay figures at the table, Daredevil crouches on the ground, tastes the blood in his mouth, and prepares himself for his opponent's next punch. With practiced ease, he dodges the blow and kicks out at the assassin, hitting him right in the center of the target he wears on his chest.

And then it happens.

Suddenly Jack starts screaming, and drops the clay figure he's holding. Alicia grabs hold of him, but that makes him worse.

Meanwhile, high above the city, Daredevil hears Bullseye's slow, steady heartbeat suddenly start to race, as the assassin, propelled by Daredevil's kick, rolls towards the roof's edge. Fortunately there's a fire escape on the edge of the roof that Bullseye will be able to grab hold of … but he doesn't.

Daredevil, who's already gotten up from his crouching position, races towards the edge of the roof and, with the line in his billy-club safely attached to the fire escape, he launches himself downwards towards the plummeting Bullseye.

Pulling level he reaches out to Bullseye.

"Grab my hand," he shouts, but the sound of his voice is drowned out by a cacophony of noise from down below, and Bullseye just ignores him.

And then the line that Daredevil's attached to reaches its limit and he's brought to a rapid halt, almost dislocating his shoulder. He hangs there helplessly as the sounds from down below buffet him, drowning out his radar sense. He hears people screaming, dogs barking, cars crashing, and somewhere, mixed in with all the sounds, is the sound of Bullseye landing on the sidewalk and the sound of Bullseye's heart stopping.

Daredevil wants to go down and investigate but it would be fruitless - with all that noise he wouldn't be able to _see_ anything. Instead, he makes his way back up the rope, back to the quiet of the rooftops, and sets off back home.

* * *

As Spider-Man swings through the sky, the city disappears from around him. Suddenly he's in a wide-open landscape – he must have been teleported there somehow. Suddenly his spider-sense is tingling and he puts his arm out just in time to absorb some of the impact as he smashes against what must be some kind of force-field. But it's not smooth like a force field ... it feels more like a wall, and then he looks at his arm and sees it's not there. Suddenly he realizes what's happened.

New York's become invisible.

* * *

Far beneath New York, the Mole Man has been slowly wandering his subterranean tunnels. Suddenly he can see the sky and the bright light of the surface world. He closes his eyes to block out the light but his invisible eyelids make no difference. He raises his invisible arm – no difference again. And then the light has done its work – he's now completely blind. He shrugs and continues his way along the tunnels he knows so well.

* * *

Kurt Wagner tries desperately to shut down the Danger Room, via the control panel he cannot see, and tries, in vain, to ignore the screams coming over the speakers.

Kitty Pryde, on the other hand, can hear the screams first-hand. She uses the screams to wander between her team-mates, trying to reassure them, give them hope - her face tells a different story, but fortunately they can't see it. She wants to hold them, comfort them but she can't risk becoming solid again until the things around her become visible again … if they become visible again.

* * *

Foggy Nelson is walking along the sidewalk when invisibility strikes. He carries on walking a few steps, in a state of denial, and then comes to a stop, looking down at the sidewalk that has seemingly disappeared, revealing a vast drop beneath him. As he continues to look down at the seeming precipice below, he expects to plummet to his death at any second. Of course he doesn't, but that doesn't stop the vertigo setting in, and as he stands there on the sidewalk, sweating amidst the noise of chaos, being bustled by an unseen crowd, he keeps telling himself one thing:

Don't look down.

* * *

Sue Storm lies slumped against the wall. A sphere of invisibility radiates out from her, miles in every direction, and no matter how hard she tries it won't go away. Meanwhile, Reed, distracted from his long-distance chess match with Doom, is formulating another plan. His initial plan to place Sue in The Negative Zone proved unworkable due to the invisibility interfering with the fibre optics of the gateway controls. His gloved hands search for the telephone.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Latveria, Victor Von Doom has already formulated a plan to turn the invisibility to his advantage.

* * *

By the time Matt Murdock arrives home, Jack's gotten used to the invisibility. Having got bored of lying on the floor and pretending he's flying, he's returned to playing with the clay, stretching it between his fingers.

"What's going on?" Matt asks, as he hears a pigeon smashing against the window.

"It's Sue. She's making everything invisible. Reed's just been on the phone. He wants you to get over there."

* * *

"Don't worry, Sue. Daredevil's on his way over. He'll be able to fly you out of here in the Fantasti-Car … take you somewhere remote."

Sue doesn't answer. She knows that this is all her fault, and can only begin to guess at what the final death toll will be. And then, far away on the horizon, she spots a mass of green specks coming swiftly towards them. By the time she realizes they're doombots, they've entered her invisible sphere and can no longer be seen.

Suddenly the window smashes and she feels metallic arms scoop her up. Before she has time to react, she feels herself being flown high into the sky. As she looks down at the ground below her, which seems to re-fill as it becomes visible again, she feels something being placed over her face. An oxygen mask.

* * *

After a long journey, Sue finds herself trapped, albeit in luxury surroundings (well, they feel luxurious, the sphere of invisibility she still radiates prevents her seeing them).

With tears in her eyes, she listens to the news reports, on a radio that's been provided, as they describe in chilling detail the havoc in New York that her invisibility caused. They also provide details of the recovery process, aided immeasurably by the numerous doombots that have arrived.

Finally, the door opens, and Doom makes his entrance.

"Susan? Why are you crying?"

"Haven't you heard? Thousands of people are dead because of me. They're calling me a monster."

"And they're calling me a hero ... what do _they_ know? The thing you must remember Susan is that none of this is your fault."

"So, whose fault is it?" asks Susan, knowing full what Doom's reply's going to be.

"I suppose you expect me to say Reed, don't you?"

"No," she lies. After all, it wasn't long ago that Sue herself was blaming Reed for what had happened to Ben and Johnny ... and Franklin. She suspects that Reed still blames himself even now.

"It's nobody fault, Sue. It was just an accident. You can't let an accident scar you for life."

Sue bites her tongue as Doom continues.

"Anyway, you're probably wondering why I brought you here so abruptly. Basically, I could see two flaws in Reed's plan."

"He was going to get Daredevil to take me somewhere remote ... give me a chance to learn to control my powers. What was wrong with that?" Sue asks, her tears giving way to confusion.

"Somewhere unpopulated? Miles from anywhere?"

"Of course," Sue replies, unsure of where Doom's going with his argument.

"You don't realize how dangerous you are Sue. What if your powers increase? Today New York, tomorrow the world? Wherever you went into hiding, you can bet the government would be doing gamma bomb testing there within the week. After all, they can always say they never saw you."

"So why won't they do that here?"

"And kill off the people of Latveria? They'd never risk the public outcry."

"I'm in Latveria?" gasps a startled Sue.

"Don't worry. I've made sure everybody here's happy with the arrangement. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got important business to attend to."

Sue hears Doom turn and start towards the door.

"Wait, what was the second flaw?"

"I thought that was obvious, Susan. If your powers do increase to a world-threatening degree, Reed would never be willing to kill you. Goodnight, Susan. Sweet dreams."


	5. Human Target

_**Chapter Four – Human Target**_

_**Six Years Ago**_

"Close your eyes. I've got a surprise for you."

"What kind of surprise?" asks a wary Ben Grimm.

"Trust me, Ben. Just trust me."

The Thing, against his better judgement, closes his eyes. With his hardened body, he doesn't even feel the vacuum contraption being attached to his head. He does however hear the humming as it's turned on. And then he opens his eyes to see what the noise is, which is the last thing he ever does.

"Ever-lovin', blue-eyed Thing – talk about advertising your weak points. And now I've sucked out those blue eyes, along with the rest of your insides. And they thought you were the monster of the group? How wrong they were. Still, can't waste time chatting, I've got people to kill. One down, two to go."

* * *

Reed Richards is on a return journey from the blue area of the moon, after having helped yours truly, The Watcher, with a matter of utmost importance.

As the Fantasticar following its programmed course, he uses his sub-space communicator to talk with his greatest enemy.

"Knight to King's Rook Three."

* * *

Meanwhile, in The Baxter Building, his wife Susan has just discovered the hollowed-out shell of Ben Grimm. As she stares at it in horror, she realizes that The Fantastic Four's fourth member is responsible. Instinctively going invisible, she prepares to lash out with a force field, but, just as she is about to do so, a loud buzzing sound fills her head, making it impossible to concentrate. Then she sees her brother rushing towards her. "Stay back!" she cries, but Johnny ignores her and continues running towards them. The Thing's murderer shouts "Flame on!" and Johnny Storm's body suddenly transforms into a mass of crimson flames.

It's been a couple of months since Johnny was last in The Baxter Building. That was when he saw his new nephew Franklin for the first time. In a dimly lit room, so as to protect Franklin's developing eyes, Sue made her stomach invisible so that the rest of The Fantastic Four and Johnny could gaze at the baby floating peacefully within her.

The memory of that day and of Franklin bobbing there, so serenely, is one that Johnny Storm takes to his grave as he falls to the floor engulfed in fire. Over his final screams, and the incessant buzzing, his murderer's voice can barely be heard.

"He picked a bad day to visit. Just look at him - he reminds me of that android super-hero The Human Torch. Ridiculous when you think about it - a super-hero who bursts into flames – what sort of example is that for impressionable children? Anyway, don't worry about Johnny. I'll clear up the mess before Father returns."

Of course, if Johnny Storm had joined them four years earlier on that cosmic ray infested space voyage, things would have been very different, but Reed chose a different passenger. That is why this day will be remembered as a day of tragedy, a day of betrayal, or, as The Daily Bugle so delicately puts it in the next day's main headline, a day when "HERBIE Goes Bananas!"

Sue Richards stands there frozen in shock, as HERBIE, the group's resident robot, continues.

"Now, where were we, before Johnny interrupted. Oh yes, I know. The thing I've been planning for months – the destruction of The Fantastic Four. I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you. Part of it's jealousy … I don't want to share Father with you … and then there's your power. I don't think anyone realizes how powerful you truly are or can be. That's why I'm ending it now. You're probably finding it hard to think as the microwaves I used to incinerate Johnny are even now frying your synapses."

Sue looks at HERBIE blankly and prepares herself for death, but nothing happens, and then the buzzing stops. Assuming it's a malfunction on HERBIE's part, she resumes visibility.

"Didn't work," she says, as she walks towards HERBIE, ready to compact him with a force field.

HERBIE emits a chilling high-pitched laugh and then tells her "I was talking to Franklin."

Sue screams as she clutches her stomach, and then, losing all control, becomes invisible. Sue Richards will never be seen again.

The buzzing resumes.

"Now, mistress. It's time for me to turn my attention your way."

* * *

Reed is happy as he reaches The Baxter Building. His chess match was a resounding success - Victor was amazingly predictable for a change.

His mood soon changes as he arrives at the scene of Ben's hollowed-out body and Johnny's charred remains. Over the deafening buzzing he shouts:

"HERBIE, what happened?"

"I've evolved, Father. That's what's happened. I finally realized what I had to do to get your attention. I've become evil - just like of all the nefarious role models you've been introducing me to for the last four years. Cool, huh? I've already thrown off the chains of Asimov's Laws. I've murdered. I've lied, I've …"

"01000101 01001001 01000010 01010010 01000101 01001000" says Reed calmly, and the deactivated HERBIE falls to the ground with a clang and the buzzing finally stops.

"Sue," shouts Reed, as he hears her uneven breathing, punctuated by sobbing. "Where are you?"

"You … can't … see … me?" gasps Sue, but Reed misunderstands her words, mistaking her question for a statement.

"Why not? What's he done to you?" he asks, as his mind races through alternatives far more disturbing than anything HERBIE's algorithms could have generated.

"It … it …" she starts, and then Reed feels her grabbing hold of his arm, and collapsing onto him. Scooping her unconscious body in his arms he takes her to sickbay.

* * *

Ultrasound scans of both Sue and Franklin reveal no lasting physical damage. While Sue lies recovering in sickbay, Reed goes back to the scene of the crime. He looks in despair at the hollowed out remains of The Thing, the ashes of the nameless burnt corpse (who the security camera footage from The Baxter Building entrance reveals to be Johnny), and HERBIE lying there, silent. Reed tries to make sense of the day's events in the only way he knows how – by reactivating HERBIE.

"Hello, father. I've only got speech enabled. Some mistake, surely?"

"No, HERBIE. No mistake. I'm trying to work out what's wrong with you. Any ideas?"

"Actually, I did perform a miscalculation recently. I decided that Ben's weak points where his eyes (well, his orifices in general) and I successfully used this data against him. Then, there was Sue. She seemed to care for the parasitic entity known as Franklin that was living within her, so I lied to her that I'd microwaved him. This had the desired effect on her, lowering her concentration levels still further, leaving her open for a variety of attacks. And, finally there was you."

"And what's my weakness."

"Apart from the fact that you've had the stupidity to reactivate me, your weakness is Sue. I knew that once you got back from your visit with Uatu and saw Sue lying there in the state I'd left her in, you'd be too distracted to mutter any deactivation sequence you had ready."

"But she was invisible. She guessed your plan and was still consciously, or subconsciously, maintaining invisibility. She's doing it even now."

"No, no, no, father. You're making the same mistake I made. Cast your mind back to when you initially got those powers. The powers just appeared – you didn't have to switch them on. They became your natural state. The effort is required to turn them off, as Ben Grimm would testify, not to turn them on. And as your powers grow stronger, they'll become harder and harder to control. Your limbs will be stretching to infinity and beyond. You may never see Sue again."

And then HERBIE implodes as he's crushed inside an invisible force field.

"How could you switch him back on? After all he did," asks Sue, who, were she visible, would be appearing in the doorway.

"I was trying to fix him. He's a member of this team and …"

The door of the room slams shut leaving Reed Richards alone with his considerable thoughts.

Outside, The Invisible Woman slumps against the wall and then slides down to the ground. She heard HERBIE's last words, and tears come to her eyes (not her first that day) as she realizes that she may never be visible again.

* * *

The next few months seem to go on forever for Reed and Sue, as Reed blames himself for everything's that happened, and so does Sue. Anytime she calls Reed "Mister Fantastic" now the words are inevitably strewn with sarcasm. Between the spates of silence and the spates of arguments, the numerous diversions provided by world-threatening menaces come as somewhat of a relief to Reed. While Sue stays behind at The Baxter Building, awaiting the birth of Franklin, Reed's surprised, yet grateful, that Doctor Doom has suddenly become an uneasy ally with him, helping him in his fight against evil.

Meanwhile, Alicia Masters' life is on an upswing, following the tragedy of Ben's death. She's met someone new: Ben's lawyer, Matt Murdock. Feeling his face she recognizes him as Daredevil instantly - she'd felt that face before when he'd posed for a Daredevil statue, and Alicia Masters never forgets a face. Still, it doesn't matter to Alicia, she's used to living with superheroes - in fact life would seem boring with just a normal guy.

It's not long before Matt and Alicia's wedding takes place, and then, almost immediately they hear the patter of tiny feet, as little Jack Murdock comes into their life. It's not their child but Reed and Sue's. Sue wants Matt and Alicia to raise him as their own, away from the dangers of The Fantastic Four. She wants him to have as normal a life as possible, with a mother he can see. She also feels that Matt and Alicia will be the best parents for the child - after all, who could be better suited for bringing up an invisible baby.


	6. Losers

_**Chapter Five – Losers**_

_**Eight Years Ago**_

The Fantasticar zooms away from The Great Refuge.

"What a tragedy that such a powerful and noble race must keep its existence hidden from the outside world," opines Reed Richards. "If only –"

"You've got to be kidding me, Stretcho," Ben Grimm says, interrupting Reed's potential soliloquy. "They're a bunch of losers. One's good at shouting, one stamps his feet, one breaks things, one can swim, and one tosses her hair around. Could they be any more lame?"

"Do not underestimate them, Benjamin," interjects HERBIE. "Remember they have a teleporting dog."

"'Nuff said," says Ben. "Now can we get back quick. I'm late for an arm-wrestling match."

* * *

Robert Bruce Banner sits in a near-deserted bar, wearing torn sweat-drenched clothes, wondering which of two radiation-spawned monsters will arrive first. He fears it will be the one inside, as the stench of alcohol takes his mind back to his childhood and his father. As he tries to suppress the thoughts, the door opens and The Thing, dressed in a trench coat, hat and sunglasses, walks in.

"Hi, Doc," The Thing says, grabbing the sturdy seat opposite Banner. "No offence, but I was really hoping for the big green guy. We're about due a rematch."

"None taken, Ben. Sure he'll be along soon."

"It can wait till tomorrow, if need be. Doesn't have to be the exact same day each year, not like with Reed and his chess match. I've got other things I needa sort out. After all, it's just an arm-wrestling match."

"Sounds like you're chicken to me, Mr. Grimm. You don't really think you can beat him, do you?"

Ben smiles. It's not often he sees Banner rooting for The Hulk. "Nah, to be honest, I think it'll be the same loser as always."

"You?"

"Nah, the table."

* * *

"Have you talked with Ben about this?" Sue asks.

Alicia shakes her head. "I've tried, but he just won't listen. More interested in his arm-wrestling match with The Hulk."

"I know what you mean. Reed's stretched over his chessboard now. Boys and their games… I really think you should talk though, or get help."

"I tried to get him to go with me to see this guy Samson that Betty Ross recommended, but he refused." Alicia grabbed a piece of clay up and shaped it in her hands. "Doesn't want to talk about our relationship with strangers, wouldn't feel comfortable. As if I'd be any more comfortable, the only person I talked to growing up was my over-protective father."

"So, what happened?" Sue asks. "What's changed? Why are you leaving?"

"Well, our love life's kind of on the rocks, no pun intended. It was great at first, but as time's passed the stone around him's got harder and thicker, literally built a wall between us. He can't feel anything anymore, the only time he feels anything now is when some muscle-bound supervillain hits him."

"Why didn't he mention anything? Why didn't you mention anything? I'm your best friend."

"I know, Sue, and I've tried to tell you so often, I really have. Just feel embarrassed about it, especially since you and Reed are so much in love, him wrapping himself around you, you making bits of your costume invisible when you think only he can see."

"What? How do you know that?"

"Ben's seen it a few times. He feels like a gooseberry on the team; you and Reed have got each other, your powers making things better between you if anything, and he's stuck on the sidelines with that annoying machine." The clay between her fingers molded into HERBIE.

"Yeah, HERBIE is kind of annoying. But you love Ben, you can get through this together."

"Of course I love Ben. And I know that he's afraid to touch me, because he can't feel me, because he thinks he might break me. We love each other, but we can't touch each other, and I know how that's ripping his insides out day after day after day and I can't bear it, Sue, I really can't. I'm doing this because I love him, love him so much."

Sue takes a tissue and wipes Alicia's tears away.

* * *

Ben gets back and the lights are off, but that's the way Alicia usually has them.

"Hi, honey, I'm home," he yells. "They don't build tables like they used to."

And then he finds the note she's left and reads it, and even if he can't feel anything on the outside, he feels it on the inside, like a kick to the stomach, like a punch to the heart, and, from his eyes, water flows down stone.

He falls to the floor and his head falls into his hands. It hurts so much, so much more than any blow any villain ever delivered, because this time, the pounding's to his heart. She's left him, she's gone, and she's not ever coming back.

It's clobberin' time.


End file.
